Art of shoemaking



Dec. 23, 1930. E. R. POPE 1,786,030

ABT OF SHOEMAKING Original Filed June lll 1925 Patented Dec. 23, 1930 unirse stares enreur orrics R. POPE, OF HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR '10` UNITED SHOE MA- CHCNERY CORPORATION, 0F PATERSOIT, NEW JERSEY, .A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ART or SHOEMAKING Original application filed June 11, 1925, Serial' No. 35,388. Divided. and this application led February 4, 1930. Serial No. 425,879.

proved method may be carried out.

@ne of the methods of making turn-shoes with molded counters involves the insertion oi a counter between the upper and the lining of a shoe o this type having a sole attached and loeing` right side out. rihe'ceuanter is coated with an adhesive to secure the upper to said counter, and these portions at the rear oi' the shoe are further attached to one another by tacks or similar i'astenings driven 'through the outsole, the edge of the. upper and the of tne counter. My invention has, as an object, the effective association ot these portions of a shoe with the upper smoothly secured to the counter.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention comprises a novel method, in the practice of which, after a counter and shoe-upper have been brought together, tension is exerted upon the trent of the upper to draw the rear into engagement with the counter. For the joining ot the assembled parts, an adhesive may be provided between the count-er and upper7 as by application to the counter, and tastenings inserted while the upper is under tensiona rihis causes the upper to adhere closely to the counter. i,

Considered from a difieren-t viewpoint, the invention consists in smoothing the upper over the associated counter by applying pressure in continuous iine about said counter, and shifting the line of pressure from adjacent to the counter-flange toward the opposite edge ot the counter. By this procedure, ii:l a fullness is present in the upper, as might be caused tion ot the astenings, this is worked out, and perfect contact oi' the upper assured over the whole counter-surface.

lp the accompanying drawing,

lig. 1 shows a particular embodiment of oy the pressure incident to the inser-Y a machine adapted to perform the method of my invention in broken front elevation;

Fig 2 is a broken side elevation oi' the apparatus Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line l i III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows the ripper-tensioning device, looking in a direction vertical to the plane 'of the jaws;

tion ot a frame 10 carrying the die-block 12, Y

in which are openings 14 to receive tacks or other fastenings by whichl portions of a shoe operated upon are to be secured. In the presentmethod, there is involved the attaching to one another in a turn-shoe S 0i the upper U with its lining L, the counter C having the flange F, and the sole B. 'Co-operating with .the openings 14 are drivers 16 for the fastenings, these drivers depending-'vertically from a top lnrt 18 carried upon the upper extremities of side rods 20, 2O arranged to reciprocate in the frame. The die-block, together with the drivers and their supporting and actuating elements, may be considered to constitute fastening-inserting mechanism, the tacks .held in the die-block-openings 14 being the jacketop are such that it will fit within the counter-portion of a shoe to be operated upon. The adjustment of the spindle 28 in the base permits a. variation in the initial relation of the jack-top and supported work to the under side of the die-block. The jack is balanced upon its pivot by a spring 32 joined at one end to the frame and at the other to a wire or other flexible member 3l, which passes over a roll Bel rotatable upon a bracket depending from the frame, and is secured to the jack-base. The tension of this spring preferably su'licient to substantially counteract the weight of the jaclr, so that it will remain where it is placed, as in the worlrreceiving position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing, or in the operating position, as illustrated in full lines. Because of its presence, movement of the jack from one extreme of its travel to the other calls for but little effort on the part of the operator. Vhen the shoe is placed upon the jack in the lowered position, the angle is such that the back seam of the upper is plainly visible to the operator. This allows him to adjust it laterally to insure its straightness before the counter-attaching operation. Vlith the jack in its vertical position, upon startingthe 1nachine in operation, the cross-head 22 rises, so that the heel-seat-portion of the shoe is pressed against the under side of the dieblock to resist the force exerted by the drivers in inserting the fastenings.

hlouned upon the front of the jack is a device for grasping the forward portion of the shoe-upper by the quarters and applying tension to draw and hold the rear of the shoe in place for the fastening" inserting operation, this applied force tending at the saine time to produce smooth contact of the upper with the counter. The tensioning device include-s a support 36 pivoted at 38 upon the jackbase, and positioned as to its angle toward and from the jaclr in a vertical plane by screws 40, 40, which are threaded into the j ack-base at each side ofthe pivot 3S. By turning down one of these screws and backing oli the other, the angle of the support, and therefore of the gripping mechanism as a whole, may be varied and fixed. Movable in upon the support 36 is a locating slide 42 shifted toward and from the jacked shoe by a screw rlhis screw is threaded into the support, and has, adjacent to its head, a iiange entering a groove in the locating slide, so that when the screw is turned the slide is moved lon gitudinally of its ways. By this arrangement, the most eifective engagement of the gripping device with the quarters of various forms of shoes may be assured independently of the angular adjustment by the screws 40, this lat' er being more particularly designed for controlling the direction in which the pull is exerted. Moi/'able in ways upon the locating slide is a carrier-slide 4116 having at its inner end an upward extension 48, upon which pivoted a pair of jaws 50, 50. These are so mounted that they oscillate 1' oward and .from each other transversely of the jack to engage the outer sides of the quarters. r tensiouspring 51, connecting the outer ends of he jaws, assists in their closure. lnterposed between portions of the jaws which may be faced with yieldable material 53 is alii-cd abutment furnished by an arm 52 rising from the slideextcnsion 48. Registering with 'the gripping ends of the jaws are opposite ser rated faces M, 54 upon the abutment, against which the worl forced by the jaws. lThe engagement of each of the quarters between a lixed member and a jaw, raiher than the grasping of the contacting quarters by the jaws alone, gives a more positivel hold, fron which the work is less liable to slip and be marred by its movement beneath the engaging surfaces of the jaws. Located in angular portions of the outer ends of the jaw-arms are slots converging inwardly and receiving upward projections 5S from an actuating slide movable in ways upon the upper surface of the slide 4:6. Fulcriiincd upon a bracket 62 at the outer end of the locating slide is a hand-lever 64 connected at GG to the actuating slide. Detent mechanism (S8, eontre-lied in its engagement by a linger-lever 70, acts to maintain the hand-lever, and therefore the actuating slide, at vhatever point it may be moved outwardly by the operator. Threaded through the bracket 62 is a screw 72, against an annular flange upon wl ich rests the outer extremity of a helical spring 74 lying within a recess in the carrier-Slide 46, this spring resisting outward niovement of lsaid slide. The lever 64s being at its inmost position, the jaws 50 will be raised to a point nearest the ack-top by the spring 74... The operator, upon desiring 'to tension the rear of a shoe over the jack, places the opposite sides of the quarters between the jaws 50 and the abutment-faces 54, and draws down the lever G41. rThis, aided by the sprin 51, lirst moves th actuating slide SO, and Contact of the projections with the outer walls of the slots 56 closes the jaws to the quarters between them and the amnmenr. The pull upon the lever continues, and, at a time determined by the srougth off" the spring 74, this spring will yield and al o the force 'transmitted through the pins and jaws to draw down the carricr. ide to stretch the upper. The force with which the spring resists the movement of the 'e may be varied by changing the position of the screw 72. This determines the amount of pressure which will be exerted to clamp the quarters between the jaws and abutment before the tensioning movement begins. ffl/uch an adjustment i ll be made that the engagenent will be {ir-rn enough to resist slipping. and yet not mar the stock. i

rlhe upper having been thus tensioned, the jack is raised to the vertical position, in which the heel-seat-portion of the supported shoe is properly alincd with the openings 14 of the die-block, and the machine is started. The cross-head 22 first rises to clamp the sole is pressed against the' upper, which, ad-V jacent to the rand-crease, tends to loosen, so

that a fullness may be produced, and the contact with the counter, which has been attained by the tensioning mechanism, may be lost. This condition I correct by smoothing down the upper from the crease in proximity to the counter-flange to the opposite edge of the counter. The rubbing member, which engages the upper to effect .this smoothing, is shown as a continuous ieXible band 80 arranged to embrace the counter-portion of the shoe at the rear and at both sides, andhaving its operating surfacesomewhat inclined to enable it to better enter the crease, and to provide at its top a narrow-surface for contact with the upper. The band may be formed of any suitable yieldable material, as felt, reinforced by a metal backing 82. It is mounted upon primary carriers 84, of which three are illustrated, movable horizontally upon a sec- 3 ondary carrier 86, this movement allowing the band to be yieldably forced-against the work, and portions of it to be engaged with and disengaged from said work. The secondary carrier is movablev vertically, in a direction longitudinal of the jack when this is in its fastening-inserting position, to produce the rubbing action of the band. The device is organized as follows: The secondary carrier 86 may be in the form of ayoke having,

projecting from its upper face, three rods 88 guided in openings in the die-block and in the indicator-bracket at the back of said dieblock. Springs 90, surrounding the rods 88, eXert their expansive force to hold the rubbing device normally raised. When thus raised, the engaging edgeof the band 80 is horizontally alined with the rand-crease of a shoe which has been brought by the jack to the fastening-inserting position. Arranged to reciprocate horizontally in the yoke are three plungers furnishing the primary carriers 84. One of these is situated near the closed rear portion of the yoke, and the other two are alined with each other at the forward ends of the band between the side rods 20. The inner ends of the plungers are joined pivotally to the backing strip at 92, those at the sides of the band being by slot-and-pin connections, which allow relative movement between the plungers and band as the former elements are the center of the band forward for engagement with the rear of the shoe when the jack is swung up tothe operating position. The side plungers carry upon their outer extremities rolls 96, which pass through slots in the frame for contact with the side rods '20.

When the rods are raisedV in the normal or non-operating relation, the rolls occupy depressions 98 in these rods, the sides of the band 80 at this time being held awa from the counter-portion of an entering s oe by springs 100 joining the pivotal connections between the band and plungers with the yoke. Extending upwardly from the depressions are cam-inclines 102. When the side rods are lowered in the fastening-inserting operation, the inclines cam out the side plungers, to bring these portions of the band into contact with the upper. To permit the band to be pressed yieldingly against the upper by the side carriers, these are made in telescoping sections, with interposed springs 104 to adapt the band to most effectively engage shoes of which the contours of the counter-portions are different. The outer band-carrying extremity of Veach plunger is threaded at 105 into the adjacent telescoping section, this connection permitting the normal position of the band to be altered. Not only is the movement of engagement and disengagement of the band 80 with respect to the work effec-ted inthe action of the inserting mechanisnnas has been described above, but the rubbing movement also is similarly produced. For this purpose, the top girt 18 carries three vertically extending contact-pins 106, which are fr Vrespectively alined with the supporting rods 88 ofthe yoke 86. The relation of the lower ends of these pins to the yoke-rods leads to their contact therewith just as the drivers begin the insertion of the tacks, and causes the lowering of the yoke. Therefore, the band 80 is moved in contact with the upper from the rand-crease, in which it has been resting adjacent to the points of insertion of the fastenings, to the opposite edge of the counter. Any fullness which had not been removed by the tensioning device, or which had been produced by the pressure of the work against the die-block, is by this means smoothed out, and

perfect Contact of the upper with the counter A attained. To'enable the time at which the rubbing operation is initiated to be changed, the Apins 106 are threaded into the top girt, or into a bracket carried by it, and may be llocked in different vertical positions by nuts 08.

Obviously, if the rubbing band were to be elevated in Contact with Ythe work by the springs 90 upon upward movement of the top girt after the insertion of the fastenings, it would tend to undo what had been accomplished, loosening the upper from its engagement with the counter, and gathering it again in a fullness at the rand-crease. To

prevent this, I provide means for holding SLO when it is freedfor another rubbing action.

-Pivoted upon the frame at the `rear of the jack is a latch 110 a ranged to engage depression in adepending` portion 112 of 'tl e yoke 36 when said yole is in its lowest position. The latch is shoivn as in the form of a bell-crank, to the horizontal arm of which is articulated a rod 114 guided for movement in the frame and having associated With it a spring 116, by which the latch is urged into engagement with the yoke-extension. Upon the jack-base is piif'oted a contact member 11S for releasing the latch. The upper e2;- tremity of this releasing member is held by a spring 120, co-operating With the jaclragainst a stop member 122 Supported upon the bracket carrying' the roll 34. ln the loW- ered position of the cross-head 22 when the jack is beneath the die-block, the contact member vertically alined with the bottom of the latch-rod 114. As shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus is ready for the initiation of a fastening-inserting cycle, the rubbing` band bein g at this time held down by the engagement of the latch 110 with the depression in the yoke-extension 112. rihe ject: having been raised about the pivot to its vertical position and the machine started, the elevation of the jack by the cross-head 22 brings the contact member 11S against the latch-rod. This swings the engaging end of the latch out of the depression, leaving the yoke 86 free to be raised by the springs 90, it traveling upward with the Work. After the release of the yoke, a camesurface 124 upon the contact member comes into engagement with the stop member 122. This swings the contact member t the left, as viewed in l? 2, so that its actuating end is carried from beneath the rod 114. The elevation of the jack is thus permitted Without interference between the members 118 and 114 after the former has performed its releasing` function. The engaging end of the latch 110 is at this time resting on the outer Wall of the yoke-extension 112 beneath the depression. This relation continues until the rubbing member, in toe descent of the drivers, has been car ied over the upper to complete its smoothing movement. At this time, the yoke-depression again receives the latch, which holds it against upivard movement until, upon the beginning of the next cycle, 'the releasing member 113 again comes into action.

Between the inserting operations, a load of tacks which are to be driven for securing` the counter are to be delivered to the diehloclr-openings 14. For their transfer, there is inovided a loader-arm 126 mounted upon the frame to oscillate about one of the side rods 20. rlhis arm carries at its outer extremity the customary loadei-blocr 128 with its tack-supporting` shutter. the openings in this block receiving a load of tache at one extrenr ity of its movement from some such source as a distributing mechanism (not illustrated), and at its opposite extreme delivering them to the die-block-openings. To relieve the operator from the burden of swinging the loader-arm, l prefer to produce its movement by connection to the jack, the oscillation of the latter causing the oscillation of tie former. Upon the jack-base is fined a gear-segment 130, meshing with a pinion 132 st upon the inner end of a shaft 134 jour naled horizontally upon the cross-head. Rotatable about a vertical axis is a shaft 136 ournaled at its lower end in the cross-head, and at its upper in the frame 10. A. tele- .scoping connection 133 in the shaft 136 provides for the movement of the cross-head uponthe frame Without interference with the operation of the shaft. Bevel-gearing 140 connects the shafts 134 and 136 to rotate together. At the upper extremity of the shaft 136 is fixed a pinion 142 meshing with a gear-segpgment 144 carried by a sleeve 146 turning Within the loader-arm at its mount-ing about trie side rod. Interposed between the sleeve and loader-arm is a spring 143 transmitting` the movement of the former to the latter, and a lowing an excess of the travel of the shaft over that of the loaderarm. The relation between the elements is such that, in the forward or Work-receiving position of the jack, the loader-block is over` the diebloclr in its nail-delivering position. lifhen the operator raises the jack for the insertion of the fastenings, the gearing swings the loader-arm from beneath the top girt to the opposite extreme of its travel, where it receives another load of nails. After the completion of the inserting operation, outward movement of the jack reverses the travel of the loader-arm, itnoiv transferring the received load of nails to the die-block.

@utlining briettv my improved method of attaching counters, as performed by the illustrated machine, it may be said that, with the jack in the dotted-line position of Fig. 2, the operator takes a turnfshoe S, of which the upper U and sole B have been attached and in the lining L of which is a horizonal slit near the rand-crease, and inserts through such slit a molded counter C carrying upon its outer surface a coating of a suitable adhesive, as paste. rhe shoe is then placed over the jack-top 30, the back seam, which is in full vieiv of the operator on account of the forivard inclination of the jack, straightened, if necessary, and the opposite quarters drawn between the jaws and the abutment-surfaces 54. A swinging down of the lever 64 iirst, by the travel of the actuating` slide 66, closes the jaws to grip the quarters, and then tensions said quarters by moif'ement of the supporting slide 46, the gripping force e2;- erted being controlled by the resistance of the spring` Q74. Because of the inclined position of the jaws, the tensioning 4force includes a component which is vertical to the sole, tending to draw the upper away from the randcrease, and a second component parallel to Vthe sole, bringing the upper against 4the counter. The resultant action produces intimate Contact of the upper with the counter over the entire surface of said counter, and causes perfect adhesion between thetwo elements. The desired tension having been applied, the lever 64 is left locked by the detelit mechanism 68, and the jack is raised so that it occupies the full-line position in Fig. 2, with the heel-seat in vertical alinement with the diesblock. When the machine is treadled, the jack is lifted by the cross-head to press the heelseat against the die-block; and simultaneously the rubbing band 80, which has, since the last operation, been held latched down at 110, is released by thercontact member 118, so that it rises with the jack. The center of the band received contact of the worlrwhen the jack was turned up by the operator. The sides are forced into engag-y ing relation as soon as the side-rods start down to produce operation of the drivers 16, this movement of the sides of the band being eiected by the cam-inclines 102 upon the side rods. When the drivers reach the tacks, which are supported in the die-block-openings as a result of a previous operation of the loader-arm 126, the pins 106 upon the top girt have come into contact with the rods 88 of the yoke 86, carrying the band. Therefore, simultaneously` with the inserting action, which drives the tacks through the sole, upper and counter-liange, the band rubs down the counter-portion of the upper, perfecting its smoothing and adhesion to the counter, and removing any defects which may have been introduced by the pressure of the sole against the die-block. VWhen the operator swings down the jack for the purpose of removing the shoe with its attached counter, the connecting gearing and shafting oscillate the loader-arm 126 from its receiving position toits delivering position over the die-block, thus providing a load of nails for the succeeding operation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of applying counters to shoes, which consists in associating a counter with a shoe-upper, providing an adhesive between the counter and upper, and exerting tension upon the front of the upper to draw the rear into engagement with the counter.

2. The method of applying counters to shoes, which consists in associating a counter with a shoe-upper, exerting tension upon the front of the upper to draw the rear into en-- gagement with the counter, and inserting fastenings to join the upper and counter while said upper is thus tensioned.

8. The method of applying counters to the counter by applying pressure over a continuous line about the rear of the counter, shifting the line of pressure from adjacent to the counter-flange toward the opposite edge of the counter, and inserting astenings in the upper and counter-fiange during the application of pressure.

5. The method of applying Vcounters to shoes, which consists in associating a counter with a shoesupper, providing an adhesiveV between the upper and counter, and causing the smooth adhesion of the upper to the counter by rubbing over the upper from adj acent to the flange of the counter toward its opposite edge.

6. The method ofV applying counters to shoes, which consists in inserting a counter coated with an adhesive between an upper and a lining attached to a sole, placing the assembled portions upon a jack, exerting tension upon the front of the upper, and rubbing over the upper from the sole.

7. The method of operating upon shoes, which consists in applying a counter to a shoe-upper carrying a sole, placing the assembledportions upon a jack inclined toward the operator. to render visible the back seam of the upper, straightening the back seam, drawing the upper over the counter raising the ack to a vertical position, and inserting fastenings to secure the sole, upper and counter.

8. The method of operating upon shoes, which consists in applying a counter to a shoe-upper carrying a sole, placing the assembled portions upon a jack inclined toward the operator to render visible the back seam of the upper, straightening the back seam, drawing the upper over the counter, raising the jack to a vertical position, rubbing the upper over the Vcounter in a direction away from the sole, and inserting fastenings to secure the sole, upper and counter.

In testimony whereof I have signed `my name to this specification.

ELMER R. POPE. 

